


Flesh And Metal

by Oskenn



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Abuse, Anger Management, Angst, Anorexia, Bodily Harm, Buckle in kiddos, Depression, Fucked Up Shit, Gay, I have no idea how to tag, I spelt again wrong, Jack is a dick because he's Jack but he tries I swear, Kinda, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mind Control, Pain, Relationship Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Slow Burn, Suicide, Survivors Guilt, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, angst agian, border line personality disorder, dead guys coming back to life for the second time, if this sounds familiar to you please don't be like Rhys actually seek help, im so sorry rhys, its jack what do you expect, like really gay, maybe some smut idk, revival, rhys is having a whale of a time over here, tags may change so keep an eye on them, this is why we cant have nice things, well he controls his cybernetics so...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-09 10:11:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12274278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oskenn/pseuds/Oskenn
Summary: ON HIATUSLiving like a ghost,You walk by everyone you know.You say that you're fine,But you have lost your sway and glow.----"You did the right thing" they said."He was the bad guy" they said.Rhys is having a hard time settling into his new life, finally stretched to a breaking point, he brings back Handsome Jack as an attempt to make himself happy again.But Handsome Jack is not an easy person to have stuck in your head. And when Rhys falls head over heels in love and gives him a real body, it's only going to get more difficult.But he gives him the means to go on, so it's worth it... right?





	1. What's In Our Heads

**Author's Note:**

> Song is 'Friend Please' by Twenty One Pilots
> 
> \----
> 
> Alright, alright lads.
> 
> So there's a definite lack of good angsty TFTBL fics, so I was like, fuck it I'll do it myself. This is my first fic and it was written on my phone so I don't know how it's gonna turn out. But yeah, if you want good angsty gay shite, then you've come to the right girl. 
> 
> Trigger warnings: depression, detailed thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys makes a decision that will change everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I noticed a lack of depressing rhack fics, so I'd thought I'd do us all a favour and write one! Have fun kiddos because I don't hold back >:)
> 
> Warnings: mentions of suicide

Rhys couldn't do it any more.

He was going crazy. It had been 8 months. 8 fucking months and he was already at the point of giving up. On _everything_.

For everyone else, adjusting to their new life was easy and they took it all in their stride. Rhys was doing alright at first, rising Atlas out of the dust and employing old Hyperion workers and new Pandorian workers to create the old, steadfast Atlas people used to know. But Voughn, Fiona, Sasha and the rest hadn't gone went he'd gone through, seen what he'd seen, done what he'd done.

Every single damn night he woke up, covered in sweat from the same nightmares. It was either Helios falling and burning with everyone screaming, watching Sasha and Fiona abandon him with the old caravan. He'd hear Jack talking over and over about how it was all his fault and how this was only the first, how he'd turn into him...

 _Jack_.

He was the other kind of nightmare and by far the worst. It was always him screaming, begging for mercy, for his life. And every time Rhys would grin and rip out his cybernetics and watch as Jack made one last desperate attempt to save his life. That one was the worst because it wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory.

Rhys was falling apart, he knew it. He didn't eat, he didn't want to, no matter what Fiona or Vaughn told him. He wasn't starving himself on purpose, he just didn't feel like eating. _Ever_. He was just a walking skeleton now, his usually skinny frame dramatised by his pale skin stretched taught over brittle bones. His eyes were dark and sunken, always accompanied by the black bags, a sign of his refusal to sleep because of the reoccurring nightmares.

He was moody and grumpy, he didn't want to be in anyone's company, he just wanted to he left alone. But then again he hated being alone, with nothing but his own mind to talk to. He didn't know what he wanted anymore, he just didn't _care_. Everything was a struggle these days, just getting out of bed felt like a momental task. He just felt empty, he didn't find enjoyment in the things he used to, he couldn't laugh with his friends anymore.

He hated everything and everyone, but most of all he hated himself.

The first time he tried it was in its office, stupidly. He had to make do with electrical wire, rope had no place in Atlas. He failed to snap his neck on the way down, so he just hung there, slowly suffocating. It brought back painful memories of Jack trying to strangle him with his own arm. Ironic really, this truly was how he was going to go out.

Unfortunately some prick in the weapons department stormed in, angry that his knocks were being ignored. Thinking back to it, the guy didn't seem to pleased to find his boss attempting to hang himself in his office. He remembered a lot of screaming, he remembered trying to stand up (he could never remember how he got on the floor) and the med team pushing him back down. He remembered panting, gasping for air as employees all stared at him as he was wheeled out. But most of all he remembered seeing his friends faces when he woke up. How angry they were. How _disappointed_ they were.

He was cleverer the next time and tried it at home. He thought if he didn't turn up for work ever again, everyone would just move on and let him rot. He thought about using a gun but it was too quick, too nice. He didn't deserve that. So he used a knife instead. Unfortunately he had some sort of chip implanted in him without being aware of it, that recorded his vitals and warned his friends when they got too low. It was Fiona that found him that time. It was funny, he could have sworn she was off vault hunting at that point. It was the same again but this time with a lot more red. The med team, the screaming, the looks of disappointment...

So now he had to make routine calls to Vaughn, at specific times, everyday. No matter what he was doing. It was either that or have Vaughn move in with him, and he defiantly didn't want that. Once he couldn't be arsed to call him and Vaughn rushed round with a whole med team to see if he was ok. Which he was. According to Vaughn though, lying curled up on the floor, not reacting to anything or anyone wasn't in his definition of 'ok'.

So that brings Rhys to where he was now, a ball of self - hatred and depression. He couldn't walk through a hallway without a group of employees staring and whispering when he'd next try to off himself. He hated it. Everyday he hated things more and more, he tried to push his friends away before they got hurt, but they persisted. Making random visits to his office. Trying to catch his eye in the hallways. Giving him lots of "we love you"s and "you're a good person"s and his favourite "we're always here for you"s. But they were never there for him.

" _Where were you when I killed Jack then?!"_

" _God Rhys you're still not over him? He was a psychopath, a monster, you did the right thing"_

" _He was begging me for his life! How does that make me the good guy?!"_

" _Why does it even matter Rhys? It was ages ago"_

_"8 months is not ages ago Fiona, you don't know what it's like. I shared my head with him, I knew him! It's not like he was talking to me in a screen, we were part of each other!"_

_"... Rhys please you need to get hel-"_

_"I DON'T DESERVE HELP!"_

He sat crossed legged on his bed, in the dim light of his bedroom, holding his old ECHOeye in his hand. He never got rid of it. He couldn't have.

He missed Jack so much. He missed his company, his banter, his advice. He craved for his companionship again. God he missed him so _much_.

And he felt so guilty. Jack had _begged_ him. Begged! Handsome Jack _never_ begged and Rhys killed him in cold blood. Well he was going to make up for it, he was going to bring him back.

So he sat there, with a knife ready to pry his golden ECHOeye out, just like he had done before. He painfully pried the glass off his blind eye and yanked the wiring out. He began to fit the old blue one in, fingers wet with blood. He didn't care what damage he'd do to his eye, he'd never been able to see out of it since-

Snap.

Pop.

The familiar blue washed over his left vision and then flickered to normal. He sat there on his bed patiently waiting...hoping...

Nothing happened.

There's was no flash of blue, no arrogant drawl, god there wasn't even any _threats_.

"Jack?" Rhys called out hopefully, but there's was no reply.

He sat there like that on his bed for the remainder of the night.

\- [ ]


	2. You Make Me Lose My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys gets a surprise visit but everything starts to go very, very wrong very, very quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack a boys back! Shit also goes down in this one, like shits probably gonna go down in all of them I ain't gonna lie. I'd also like to dedicate the ending of the chapter to my mate, Victoria. Because fuck you victoria, fuck you.

When Rhys' alarm when off the next morning he hadn't moved an inch. He was still in the same cross legged position as the night before, with dried blood coating one side of his face. He slowly got up and flicked the alarm switch off his phone, he sighed deeply, he felt empty and miserable again. Whenever he felt like this he knew it was going to be a Bad Day. He hoped this Bad Day didn't end with him trying to do The Thing again. Although it did sound nice... no, he promised Vaughn that he'd try to resist hurting himself again. He also promised to go and talk to him whenever he felt like this or thought about tying to slice his wrists open, but he sure as hell wasnt going to talk to Vaughn about his pathetic feelings.

He sighed again. Work was the last place he wanted to be right now. He ran his silver hand through his aurburn hair and complemented skiving off work. No, Atlas was too fragile at the minute, it needed him. Or Vaughn, or Vasquez or someone who actually knew what they were doing and didn't fuck everything up like he did. Someone like Jack. Reluctantly, he made his way over to the bathroom and started to get ready.

He stared at the mirror, at his old, familiar blue eye. _It was a stupid idea,_ Rhys thought as he got washed and dressed, _why would he be saved in the ECHOeye? It was just some stupid, pointless idea no Fucking wonder I never got that promotion and Atlas is barely fucking functioning I'm just some stupid nobody that thinks he's clever and special and I'm not I'm just a stupid fucking waste of space why do I even bother it's fucking embarrassing for everyone who has to be around me-_

A sudden noise broke Rhys out of his mental mantra, it sounded like... someone tutting at him?

_Everyone's right, I truly am loosing it._

He shook his head tiredly and carried on getting ready. God he was exhausted, he felt like he could just shut his eyes and sleep right there. He was used to it though, he barely slept anymore, not with all the nightmares and his own thoughts bouncing around his stupid empty head. Not for the first time he wished he never started Atlas up again. He was so tired he couldn't go on like this, and oh god he had that big meeting today...

He splashed his face with cold water hoping to wake himself up. God forbid he collapsed at work again. He'd done it several times before now, one minute he'd be talking or typing and the next he was in the floor with some concerned employee staring down at him. A fortnight ago he'd done it in the cafeteria with Vaughn. He was just listening to him going on about how he'd seen a skag swim and " _it's the weirdest fucking thing you'll ever see, trust me"_ he'd suddenly felt very tired and then he woke up on the floor, with a med team surrounding him.

" _Vaughn I'm fine really I don't need to go to the med wi-"_

_"For fucks sale Rhys, you just collapsed in front of me, you're going to the damn med wing!"_

_"I'm always fine when it happens, really..."_

_"When it happens? Fuck! This isn't the first time? Why didn't you tell me?! Oh and I bet you haven't gone to see a med team about it then either!"_

_"I-it's just-I'm not sleeping and-I th-think I'm just tired-"_

_"Think? Well this is the time to find out, go with them to the med wing and see if you're ok, I'll come with you"_

_"Vaughn you don't have to-"_

_"Yes I do. A newborn baby can take better care of itself than you can!"_

_"Vaughn..."_

_"What?!"_

_"I'm... I'm sorry, I don't-I'm-I'm sorry about being a nuisance-"_

_"You're not-fuck Rhys I...let's just get you to the med wing ok buddy?"_

Rhys was right, it was down to lack of sleep. They gave him some sleeping pills but he hasn't touched them. He could go to sleep perfectly easily he just chose not to. He made a mental note to flush some of the pills down the toilet later, in case Vaughn came snooping. Or Fiona. She, August and Sasha were staying in the area while working on a new vault. Funnily enough they've been here for a while. Rhys would like to think it was to keep and eye on him but why would they? They were vault hunters now, they wouldn't stick around to make sure Rhys wasn't dangling from the ceiling again, they had much more important things to do.

Rhys whined as he rubbed his eyes and quickly grabbed his briefcase. He was dreading that damn meeting today, especially after last night. He should have waited to switch the ECHOeye's till tonight, there was no way he'd be focused today.

\----

Walking out of his apartment, he made his way to his black, sleek car. Atlas was not bringing in huge amounts of money yet, so he didn't have the nicest things anymore. Strangely enough he didn't really care. He stopped caring about materialistic things since his adventure on Pandora and the vault and Helios-

He paused, resting his head on his car as tears threatened to fall, God Helios... he couldn't think about it now, or he'd risk a mental breakdown. Again. He didn't want to go through the shame of that again. His employees already thought he was off his head as it was.

The drive to Atlas was uneventful, as usual. When Rhys arrived at the parking lot he just sat there. He wondered what was the point any more, why should he even try to go on...you know, the usual stuff.

His thoughts were broken by a sharp tapping at the window. He turned to see Vaughn peering back in, he hadn't gotten rid of his beard or long hair and it actually suited him. He certainly got more attention from the ladies now.

Rhys just usually got the wrong sort of attention. Whisperings and stares as he passed by, he could even hear them laughing at him. Well he think he could. They probably were, even if he couldn't fully hear it.

"Come on bro, we have that meeting in er" Vaughn quickly checked his phone "oh shit, five minutes"

Rhys turned and jumped out of the car, full of energy again "shit Vaughn, why didn't you tell me?"

"Well I'm telling you now"

"Very funny"

Vaughn anxiously pushed his glasses up his nose "you er... you were just kinda sitting there... in your car... staring off... kinda creepy you know" he blinked hard "what were you thinking about?"

"None of your fucking business" snapped Rhys. Vaughn sighed but began to walk with him to the entrance. He'd long grown used to Rhys' new moodiness now.

They quickly got inside and made their way to the elevators. Rhys and Vaughn joined a tall, slim blonde lady whose hair was strictly scraped into a bun. An ex-Hyperion.

As the elevator moved up, Rhys could see her staring at him out of the corner of his eye, he started to turn to her but before he could make eye contact she hitched her breath and turned away. She took a few steps away from him as if he had some deadly disease.

Anxiously, Rhys turned to Vaughn, wondering what he had done wrong. But Vaughn was too busy flicking through his papers to notice. So Rhys returned to awkwardly staring ahead.

When the lift came to a stop, the lady rushed out, followed by Vaughn and Rhys. But before they entered the meeting room, Rhys turned to address Vaughn.

"Hey er... do I looked ok?"

"Apart from being thin as fuck? You look fi-wait" Vaughns voice had that concerned tint that Rhys knew always led to Vaughn having a go about how poorly he looked after himself.

"Shit Rhys what did you do?"

"Wha-what? I haven't-I-i-i swear I haven't- what is it?" Rhys stammered out, caught off-guard.

"Rhys there's blood all down your face!"

"Oh I thought I got it all off-no, no not like that" he said quickly when he saw the look on Vaughns face "it's my new ECHOeye, it bled a little"

"They shouldn't bleed when they get put in-oh for fucks sake you did it yourself" Vaughn sighed. "Your gonna mess that eye up if you keep doing that"

"Vaughn I'm already blind in that eye"

"I know but... just leave it to the professionals ok? Besides why'd you get a new one? I thought the reason you got gold was because blue brought back too many memories?" Vaughn asked, puzzled.

"Yeah well I changed my mind" Rhys said grumpily. He spat on his sleeve and cleaned his face off "better?"

"Better but-"

"Brilliant. Let's go in" Rhys interrupted and shot off into the meeting room.

  
\----

 

Rhys sat there in the meeting. He couldn't throw off the feeling that he was being watched somehow. He fiddled anxiously with his sleeve, before realising it was his turn to talk. He stood up and tried to come off as a confident and powerful leader of a great company rather than some skinny dude who felt like he was about to pass out form sleep deprivation. But before he could even open his mouth, he felt a familiar sensation, as if someone had appeared suddenly behind him, accompanied by an oh so familiar voice.

"What's up cupcake, you got bored of killing people you fucking cumbag?"

Rhys let out a shriek and spun around coming face to face with Jack.

Handsome.

Fucking.

 _Jack_.

He felt the air leave his body and stood speechless, staring at Jack.

"Is he ok?" Muttered one of the councilmen.

"Er Rhys buddy? You doing ok?" Asked Vaughn nervously.

"Er yeah, yeah...m-my ECHOeye just shocked me" lied Rhys turning away from Jack.

"Oh come on kiddo, you bring me back from the dead and don't even want to introduce me? Tsk tsk, I taught you better"

Rhys recognised that sound, it was what he heard in the bathroom earlier that morning. He'd been there the entire time...

"I-uh-I n-need to go sort it o-out"  
He managed to stammer out before he bolted from the room, Jack hot on his heels.

"What you think your can walk away just like that? You killed me! You think you can fucking get away with it?" Jack snarled in Rhys' ear. He made a choking motion with his hand, expecting Rhys' to follow suit. But it didn't.

"Wh-what?" Muttered Jack confused.

"It's a new arm Jack, you can't control it" hissed Rhys under his breath.

"I'll find a way just you wait" spat Jack as he followed Rhys into the bathroom. Once in, Rhys checked every cubicle to make sure they were alone, before turning to face Jack.

An awkward silence fell between them, neither man knowing what to say. Jack glanced Rhys up and down.

"Fuck Rhysie you look like _shit_. Have you eaten anything since I died? I could probably take you out like this, you look like you could snap in half you skags cock" Jack snarled at Rhys, there was anger, oh there was definitely anger, but there was a layer of concern too. Jacks eyes lingered a little too long on Rhys' sharp cheekbones, on his twig-like legs, on the looseness of his clothes. He glanced at the nearly showing collarbone, how it looked like it could slice through the skin so easily.

"I'm sorry" cracked Rhys's voice "I'm so, so sorry..."

"About murdering me in cold blood? Yeah 'sorry' 'ain't gonna cut it sweet cheeks" Jack said menacingly.

"I didn't... I tried-I brought you back!" Cried Rhys desperately "I don't know what to do! I felt so guilty and I missed you and I regret everything that happened and I-I-I-"

"I-I-I" mimicked Jack in an overly high pitched voice. "Boo fucking hoo, I'M the one that died remember? No thanks to you"

"Please! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! I can't-every night I-I just panicked-I was scared-"

"Oh YOU were scared, how did you think I felt?!" Roared Jack at him, causing tears to steam down Rhys' face "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE! It's just _black_ , there's _nothing_ -"

Jack was interrupted by Vaughn bursting into the toilets. "Rhys what the hell was that? I-are you crying?" Vaughns voice turned to concern when he saw his friends tear streaked face.

"No-no I just-" Rhys wiped his face before glancing anxiously at Jack "my eye's fine I just-let's go back"

"Are you sure? You don't look to good today... I can always say your having issues with your cybernetics and that we need to cancel-"

"No-no! It's fine, I'm fine"

"Rhys-"

"I SAID I'M FINE VAUGHN!" He finally snapped at his poor friend, his mental stability pushed to the edge.

Jack whistled behind him "would you look at that, cupcakes grown a backbone, knew I'd taught you something" the words trickled down Rhys' back and he felt like he was going to pass out.

Rhys hissed under his breath and stormed out. This was a bad idea. A really bad idea. His chest was way to tight and he was on the verge of tears. The pressure in his chest grew and grew. He hesitated when he got to the meeting room, hand resting on the handle, but it took a deep breath and opened it.

As he walked in he heard one of the men mutter "its right, he really is a freak-" and that was it. Rhys broke.

He dropped to his knees, hands twisting on his hair and he screamed. Tears rolled down his face as he howled to the floor. Hearing how the others had no respect for him... how they  _mocked_ him, was the final straw for Rhys' already fragile mind. He could hear people moving about and yelling but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He knew Vaughn was yelling for help but out of all the voices he could only hear one, it was clear as day, echoing in his own mind.

"Rhys? The fuck you doing? The hell is wrong with you?"

The yelling was only making Rhys worse, his fingers tightened into his skull and he felt his finger tips go wet with blood.

"Rhys, you're freaking me out-STOP" yelled Jack in a...panicky voice? "Rhys you're hurting yourself just _stop!"_

Rhys sobbed, the mental strain of his own self-hatred... Jack... the bloody meeting... it was all too much. Way, _way_ too much.

Rhys completely broke down and collapsed on the floor in a heap, he curled into a ball and whimpered into his knees.

"Rhysie, hey Rhysie" Jacks voice was softer now, kinder "hey it's ok, everything's ok, you just need to breath and calm down alright?"

Breathing. Fuck. Why did he have to mention bloody breathing? He was now aware of how little air was getting into his lungs, how tight his lungs were getting...

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK, you're having a panic attack. Ok well... I don't know don't panic? Alright shit advice just... try to slow your breathing ok? Rhys. _Rhys_ " the last word was spoken with such conviction Rhys managed to focus directly on him "ok that's good just listen to me ok? Just focus on me...ah shit now what do I do... just, count to 10? Wait that's anger management fuck, well it should work try it"

Rhys tried but could barely get to 4 before his mind fell apart again.

"Aw Rhysie fuck..." trailed Jack "just what the hell? You saw me and just broke down like that? What's wrong with your head?!"

Jack wasn't making the situation any easier for Rhys.

"Oh shit look Rhysie don't... oh no... no-no-no don't do that!" He heard Jack yell out to someone else forgetting he was a hologram. Rhys didn't have much time to panic over what he was talking about before he felt a sharp prick in his neck and everything went very, very black.


	3. The Friends We Keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The branches of Rhys' actions effects all those around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what to say? Exposition chapter I guess? Kinda?

 

"So what the fuck are we going to do with him?"

Vaughn sighed and rubbed his face. Every part of his body ached, he was tired physically and mentally. The strain Rhys had been putting on in him since that morning, since 7 months ago actually, was finally catching up with him."I don't know Fiona, he refuses to get help from anybody, and he needs it, that meeting was a fucking disaster." Vaughns chest tightened as he thought back to what happened. To see Rhys screaming like that, it was much worse than he'd ever seen before. Vaughn was no stranger to Rhys' breakdowns anymore, and what scared him was they were getting more and more frequent and more 'normal' for Rhys.

The con-woman turned vault hunter sat across from Vaughn, in the med wings waiting room. Her eyes narrowed and hardened like glass "Yeah no shit Sherlock, people don't usually just break down screaming like that, what even triggered it?"

"That's the worst part, I don't know. He looked like shit all day. I saw him pull into the car park and just sit there, staring at nothing. Really freaked me out." Vaughn glanced off to the side anxiously, as if he expected the elderly man next to him to be listening in "He looked dreadful too, I don't think he slept last night."

Fiona glanced over him, concern in her deep brown eyes "wasn't there something wrong with his ECHOeye?"

"Yeah he switched his eyes around last night. It's the excuse I used to get the council off our backs, that he just had it implanted and that it was malfunctioning." Vaughn hoped that was really the truth, but knowing Rhys he doubted it was, because things with Rhys were never just as simple as that "look Fiona... Rhys is only getting worse, we need to make a decision-"

"What do you mean?" She snapped back at him "I'm not gonna cart him off to the looney bin if that's what you're saying"

"I'm don't-Jesus Fiona, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that... I just don't what to do! What we're doing isn't working and I don't know what else to do to help him." Vaughn growled, frustrated.

Fiona sighed and rolled her eyes at that "yeah, and we've had this conversation how many times exactly? You said it yourself, Rhys won't allow us to help him, you know how frustrating he is, anything or anyone that could help him he shuns out." She lent back in her chair, the plastic legs squeaking.

"He can't go on like this for much longer, this is the third time he's ended up on the med wing this month, I'm scared of what he's going to do" Vaughn sighed placing his head in his hands. He just felt like he needed a break from all this.

"What about the idea of moving in with him?" asked Fiona "I mean that whole ECHOeye thing, it freaks me out. I know he probably hasn't done anything but... he's Rhys, I just can't trust him."

Vaughn looked up at her tiredly "He hates that idea, I promised him that as long as he doesn't... try anything again that he could live by himself. I'm hoping it'll put him off doing something."

Fiona sat forward again in her chair and brushed a hand through her hair "Are you sure he's never been like this before?"

"We did some shady stuff at Hyperion, but he always seemed fine, I've known him for nearly five years and this took me by surprise as well." Vaughn stood up and stretched, his body starting to cramp after sitting for so long "And Fiona? Thanks for hanging around to help with Rhys, I really appreciate it, I know you want to go off vault hunti-"

"I know" Fiona cut him off "but Rhys is more important. He's like family. And we always stick up for family"

Vaughn glanced over to the double doors that lead to the ward Rhys was on. "Do you think he'll be ok?" He asked the vault hunter quietly "that was one hell of an episode he had, It's his worst one yet I think"

"He should be fine, Rhys is tough" Vaughn gave her a look "Well he is physically, it's not like he's never been sedated before" she sighed and rested her head in her hands as Vaughn sat back down with a guilty look on his face.

"I know but..." Vaughn trailed off, whatever he was planning to say died in his tongue, when he saw Fiona's face.

\----

Fiona hated hospitals, they where too white, too clean, too quiet. She hated the squeak of wheels on polished floor and the stench of disinfectant. She hated the crushing feeling of having to remain quiet, as nurses with fake smiles and fake attitudes patrolled the corridors.

The med wing started off small and quiet when Atlas was first restarted. Built up from the scraps of Hyperions med wing and the surviving nurses and doctors, it was then opened to the public and Pandorians flooded in, so the med wing was in constant state of action. Much more than what Hyperion saw. With a "psychos and weapons to be left at the door" rule, there had been very little incidents, even bandits weren't stupid enough to damage a place where they could get professional, proper healthcare.

Even with the constant bustling activity, Rhys was always pushed first in line, being the guy who pays the staff. Fiona couldn't help but worry for him, being stuck down long winded corridors and wrapped in plastic-like blankets, after having a mental breakdown and getting a needle shoved in his neck.

She didn't like how reliant the staff were becoming on sedating Rhys, yes the first time it happened she had ordered it, but she would willingly admit that it was poor judgment on her part. They called a med team not long ago after one of his more 'minor' incidents, and she was shocked when they immediately sedated him. She screamed bloody murder at them after Rhys collapsed, saying that if he was not posing a danger to himself or others, then he shouldn't be sedated. The staff had drifted from attempting to calm Rhys down with soothing words and instead drugging him and leaving him on some godforsaken hospital ward, forcing Fiona and the others to pick up the pieces.

As time slowly trickled by, she couldn't help but painfully think back to the first time they had to put him though this, 5 months ago:

" _Rhys! Calm down please!"_

_"I can't-I-Fiona-I-I arghhh"_

_"Rhys! You need to calm down, you're gonna make yourself really sick if you're not careful, Rhys? Rhys listen to me!"_

_"Stop yelling j-just please stop yelling!"_

_"Ok, ok I'm sorry, it's ok. Just... try to calm down-"_

_"HOW? I can't, I can't-I-I-I can't breathe I-I-I can't-stop-I can't..."_

_"Rhys it's ok, I'm here you just need to stop freaking out, we have a med team on the way-"_

_"No-no-no-no you can't-"_

_"It's ok Rhys, they'll help you"_

_"T-they think I'm crazy! They all do, I-I-I just don't want to be l-laughed anymore..."_

_"Rhys no one is laughing at you-"_

_"YES THEY ARE, THEY ALWAYS ARE!"_

_"Rhys please, no ones laughing at you, no one thinks you're crazy, it's all fine I promise"_

_"B-but it's not! I-I-it's always burning-and I can't-he's always there-I-I killed him-"_

_"Rhys what are you on about? Just stop talking and focus on calming down ok?"_

_"Y-you don't g-get it-he was begging... he never begs..."_

_"Ok Rhys? I'm Kace from the med team, we're going to give you a sedation ok? You'll wake up and you'll be-"_

_"No-no-no Fiona don't let them do this!"_

_"Rhys listen to them it's for the best, you have to trust me"_

_"No-no-NO arghhh!"_

_"RHYS!"_

\----

Rhys awoke with a start. His head and chest ached like hell, his mouth was dry and he had a copper taste on his tongue. Fuck. He knew what this meant, he'd been sedated _again_. His head hurt too much to remember how he ended up here in the first place. Did he try to do The Thing again? Or did he have a breakdown? God, whatever it was he hoped it didn't happen at work, he lacked respect enough as it is.

He groaned and rubbed his forehead, getting slightly tangled in his IV line. His brain felt like it was getting ripped apart by skags.

He couldn't help feeling that there was something important... something he had to remember.

"Hiya there fruit loop, mind telling me what the fuck just happened?"

That voice...it couldn't be...

Rhys twisted around sharply, causing pain to spike through his head, and came gave to face with... Jack. His Jack. Just crouching by the bed.

"I... what?" He gasped confused. How the hell did Jack get here? What was going on?

"What you don't remember? Did ripping out all your cybernetics fuck your head up or what kiddo?" He snarled at the younger man.

Rhys just froze. This wasn't how he was expecting his reunion with Jack to go. He didn't really know what he was expecting to be honest but it certainly wasn't this, Rhys lying in a hospital ward (again) and Jack standing there with a storm in his face.

Jack scowled at the lack of answer. He lent backwards, his blue face twisting into a wolf grin. "So what's up? How've you've been? Turned into a nutcase I see, those guys you were with didn't seem too happy with you little fit you had back there" he grinned darkly.

"What? Oh no, no, no..." Rhys trailed off as memories came flooding back. The ECHOeye, Jack, the meeting, the fucking goddamn meeting.

_You had one job and you fucked it up again you no-good worthless pile of fucking-_

"So nutball, what's been going on while I was away?" Jack interrupted his thoughts, leaning backwards till he was flat on the floor, pulling one knee up.

"Don't call me that" Rhys muttered quietly, eyes downcast.

"What?" Said Jack in a mock surprised tone "Nutball? Fruit loop?" He smirked at Rhys.

"Freak?"

" _Shut up! Just shut the hell up!"_ Rhys screeched suddenly, causing shocks of pain flashing through his skull.

Jack held his hands up as a mocking 'calm down gesture' before sharply jumping to his feet. "Look here sunshine, if one of us is gonna be pissed, _then it's gonna be me!"_ He roared in Rhys' face, his audio malfunctioning and causing his voice to twist and grate like fingernails on a blackboard. The sudden change in attitude made Rhys jump a foot into the air, clanging his head on the metal bed frame, making his headache worse "You _killed_ me!"

"You tried to kill me too!" Rhys cried "How are you better than me?" He protested, starting to get frustrated.

Jacks eyes narrowed dangerously "The fuck did you just say?"

"Look the last few months for me have been rough ok? Just... go easy on me" Rhys begged.

"Easy on you? No no kid, I've got some shit to get through to you" Jack snarled in a low growl, but before he could follow up on his threat the doors to his hospital room opened.

\----

"There are minor lacerations to the scalp, superficial tearing to the biological ECHOeye port and he's severely underweight" the doctor finished looking up from his clipboard at the man and woman standing in front of him. "There appears to be no side affects of the sedation, but we've given him an IV due to him being slightly dehydrated, and in his state we don't want to risk anything"

"What do you mean 'in his state'?" Asked Vaughn nervously.

"Well, due to him being so thin, his body and immune system is more susceptible to minor injuries and infections becoming more serious" the doctor replied in a soft, pitying tone "We want to keep him over night, so we can keep an eye on him and monitor his vitals"

"Bagsy not being the one to tell Rhys" Vaughn said, immediately earning a 'how are you so childish' glare from Fiona.

As if on cue, the three of them heard distant yelling down the corridor.

"That's Rhys room" the Doctor had time to say before Vaughn and Fiona dashed off to see what was wrong.

\----

" _Shut up! Just shut the hell up!_ "

Fiona could hear Rhys yelling before she even got near to his room, who on earth was he talking to? Who was there with him? Panic suddenly took over as she imagined someone harassing Rhys over his breakdown, it had happened before and she knew it can easily happen again.

She burst into Rhys' room, expecting some asshole to be standing over him, giving him hell, only to find... nothing.

Rhys was staring directly to his right, facing slightly off of where Fiona entered, there was as nothing there but his eyes were hard and focused.

"Rhys? Who are you talking too?"

Rhys jumped and stared at her, then glanced at his right again, brows furrowed. After a good few moments of silence he finally said "Er... no one... I'm... nobody, it's fine"

Fiona walked over to him slowly "Are you'd sure? It didn't sound like you were fine"

"Yeah" laughed Vaughn behind her "I thought you were getting murdered or something-sorry" he said quickly after getting a glare from Fiona.

"Just... er, a nightmare" Rhys stammered out.

Fiona could sense that the man was lying. She was a con-woman for goodness sake. But she decided to drop the subject. She knew pushing things with Rhys was a bad idea and it was usually just better for everyone if they just went along with it.

She walked over to Rhys and took his cybernetic hand gently "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit" Rhys replied bluntly. He groaned and rubbed his forehead, he did look terrible. Too-pale skin stretched over too-prominent bones, with too-bright eyes surrounded by too-dark shadows. He glanced to his right again and scowled, then flicking his blue and brown eyes back to Fiona.

Ignoring it, Fiona sighed and sat down by his bed "Are you sure you're ok? It was a huge dose that you had."

"I'm fine" Rhys repeated curtly. Fiona knew mentioning anything related to his... illness, made Rhys clam up. He hated talking about it and it frustrated them, he just wanted to go on as if everything was normal and that nothing bad had happened, which only proved to make this whole thing worse.

Fiona glanced at Vaughn, he gave her a look to say 'I'm not saying it you are'. The vault hunter gritted her teeth and prepared to the outburst that was to come.

"The doctor wants you to stay over night, they want to monitor your vitals and check that you're going to be ok." She paused, tensing up.

As expected, Rhys exploded.

"No, _no_. I don't need to stay in, I'm perfectly fine! Why won't any of you _listen_ to me?" Rhys snarled, face twisting darkly.

 _Because we can't trust you not to hurt yourself anymore you idiot,_ Fiona thought to herself. _You're not fine, you're never fine._

"I don't need babysitting" Rhys snapped just as the doctor entered the room. Rhys eyes narrowed at him and he suddenly pulled his hand out of Fiona's grasp "I'm not staying in" he muttered and crossed is arms.

Fiona groaned and put her head in her hands. Every damn thing with Rhys had to be a struggle, every decision had to lead to an argument. She was so sick of it at this point.

"Rhys we need to monitor you over night" the Doctor started to explain.

"I told you I'm fine, I want to go home. I'm _going_ home. There's things I need to sort out."

The doctor looked strained at this point and tried again "Look Rhys, I have to keep you in overnight, you had a very strong dose of sedation this time round, and we just want to monitor you that's all, we'll leave you alone as much as we can"

But Rhys retaliated back "look I'm fine," he repeated, laughing "I don't see what the fuss is all about-"

"You're not." Fiona heard herself saying.

Everybody suddenly looked at her, surprised, but Rhys just smirked and started to get up "Fiona I'm alright honestly-"

Finally, Fiona cracked "Look Rhys, I don't care. You're not 'fine' and you're not 'ok'!" She yelled suddenly at Rhys. The young man froze and stared at her, shock plastered all over his face, eyes wide open. "You're _sick_ Rhys, you're staying here and if you try to leg it against like last time, I _will_ have you tied to your fucking bed!" Fiona lost the last grips of her temper. She caught a glimpse of Rhys' shocked face again as she turned and stormed out, and couldn't help but feel guilty, but the feeling was soon lost as anger coated every fibre of her being and her tears pricked her eyes.

\----

"Come on kiddo, you need to eat."

Rhys had been stirring the soup around in his bowl idly for the last ten minutes, not touching any of it. Jacks voice was quiet, compassionate almost, a stark contrast to how he was earlier. It annoyed Rhys to no end, did Jack just think he can yell at him and insult him one minute, and then be all caring the next? Rhys was seriously starting to re-think bringing Jack back.

"I'm not hungry" he muttered, not daring to voice his thoughts in case he pissed Jack off.

"Just have a mouthful then"

"Why should you care?" Rhys sighed. He just felt empty. A imaginary stopper was in his emotions and he felt like a blank canvas, empty and void.

Jack rolled his eyes and sighed impatiently "Look, I don't want anymore shit to happen to your head, why? Because I live there, and I've barely been back a day so I don't really want end up dead. _Again_." The last word he gave an accusing look at Rhys, making the younger mans insides squirm with guilt. "So eat" Jack finished, crossing his arms.

Rhys sighed, but begrudgingly ate a mouthful of soup. His teeth clanged against the metal spoon and he held the nearly flavourless soup in his mouth for a minute. Rhys grimaced as he eventually forced it down his throat and he felt his stomach go heavy. He felt sick.

Jack raised his eyebrows and glanced at the bowl again, signalling for Rhys to eat more.

Rhys forced another mouthfull down but gagged and almost threw it up. His stomach twisted and felt uncomfortably full with the minuscule amount of food in it. Rhys coughed and spluttered and gave up, placing the bowl on the side with a clatter and rolled over, clutching his stomach.

Jack sighed but didn't press it, Rhys could see through the slivers of his closed eyes Jack sitting down and leaning against the wall.

"Why'd you bring me back?" Jack asked after a few moments of silence. The question hung heavy in the air.

"Because I felt so guilty" Rhys whispered, he could barely hear himself and wondered if he should repeat his answer, but Jack gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"Nighty night, fruit loop"

Rhys winced at Jacks new nickname for him but didn't protest, instead he just nestled deeper into the scratchy hospital bed.

"Night Jack"

He was so glad to say those words.

 

 


End file.
